ANTIDEPRESSANTS

Another category of prescription drugs that are sometimes abused are antidepressants. These include Prozac, Seroxat, Cipramil, Lustral, Efexor and Zispin. These come in multicoloured capsules and tablets.

"My brain feels like it’s screaming at me to get more of these pills, the feelings I have without them are too unbearable....I need more help getting through this Effexor withdrawal. I’m so depressed that I’ve started cutting my arms, and I’m not even sure why. Also I hallucinate every few hours and see things—just today I saw blood dripping down my wall.” —Rita

Studies have shown that the effects of these drugs can include:

Insomnia

Irritability

Nervousness and anxiety

Violent thoughts and actions

Agitation

Suicidal thoughts or suicide

Tremors

Hostility

Sweating

Irregular heartbeat

Aggression

Criminal behaviour

Confusion and incoherent thoughts

Paranoia

Hallucinations

Psychosis

Akathisia (a painful inner agitation; inability to sit still)

One study found that 14% of the young people taking an antidepressant became aggressive and even violent. One 12-year-old boy developed violent nightmares about killing his classmates, then being shot himself. The dream continued to feel “very real” after awakening, and for days he experienced dreams of killing that seemed increasingly real. He became acutely suicidal until the drug was stopped.

This study gave several other examples of extreme and irrational behaviour from individuals on these drugs. One man rammed a police officer with his vehicle so he could grab the officer’s gun and shoot himself. Another drowned himself and his two small children in a bathtub, and a boy bludgeoned a close friend for no apparent reason. None had any previous history of violence.